Vikas Agarwal decodes the OnePlus way of advertising in India

Leaving its online only and no ads strategy behind it, smartphone company OnePlus has embraced advertising, but is still staying away from being aggressive on traditional media. Instead, it's focusing on creating new content for digital, month on month. While most of its competitors have a different philosophy, OnePlus is certain that its approach will work in the long run.

With the onset of Diwali, OnePlus has rolled out its digital-only campaign, that attempts a humorous spin on the tropes of the festive season. Brand Equity caught up with Vikas Agarwal, general manager, OnePlus India, to understand more about the campaign, his views on working with different ad agencies, and his thoughts on expansion.

Edited excerpts:

Digital first! (always)

Agarwal and young his team, are open to experimenting with content: “No idea is rejected. We re-look and re-work and do small pilots. Data analysis also comes into the picture while we work on an idea.”

Last year, the brand rolled out a massive TV campaign with Amitabh Bachchan, to take its brand awareness to the larger masses. Once that was done, a Diwali campaign was launched, that had the emotional quotient to it, only for the online audience.

This time around, OnePlus, tries to personify Diwali.

According to Agarwal, this approach was chosen since, “We wanted some freshness. The thought was to develop a simple yet entertaining creative that is not just relatable but also leaves you with a smile on your face. We are confident that it will work.”

He also adds that being a digital-first brand, the platform is the company’s biggest bet when it comes to communication. Taking the ATL route typically is now considered only during major launches.

“Creative involvement is a priority”

Through the course of its communications, OnePlus has with BBDO India (for its mass media campaign), BoringBrands, and for its latest spot, Dentsu Digital. Why not rely on a single partner or set of partners as is the industry norm, we wonder?

The change is a result of how OnePlus is structured: Agarwal and his roughly 35 member team are divided into different groups to ideate for a campaign. The creative typically mushrooms from here, and later an agency comes on board for scripting and execution. “Creative involvement is our priority. And, since it has worked for us all this while, we will collaborate with various agencies during the execution phase of ideas even in the future," he says.

Being premium is the way to go?

OnePlus is clear that it wouldn’t alter its price range, and get into a lower segment. “We don’t want to be in multiple categories. It certainly dilutes the value of the brand in the long run. We will continue to focus on our top selling features,” says Agarwal.

That’s also another reason why OnePlus isn’t taking too much on its plate. “Top five cities of the country are our key markets. While Amazon has a larger presence which helps us, from a brand perspective, we will enter other untapped regions only when we are ready with a solid service network, we are in no hurry,” concludes Agarwal.